Did ‘SNL’ Really Have to Issue an Underwear Rule for Cast Members?

Apart from the “no dropping F-bombs on live TV” directive, Saturday Night Live isn’t exactly known for having too many strict rules. But as one recent social media post indicates, there was once a time when the show needed to mandate the use of underwear during show nights.

An SNL fan recently posted a photo of a handwritten notice, on vintage NBC stationery, warning that all cast members “must wear underwear on Saturday.” The message is followed by the words “THIS MEANS YOU!” — each one bearing the rare double underline. 

Is this real? Well, the page comes from the 1977 Saturday Night Live book by original SNL writer (and future Square Pegs creator) Anne Beatts. And it turns out that the underwear-centric notice that was printed in the book was, in fact, genuine. According to Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad, the notice was “posted outside Studio 8H by costume designer Franne Lee.”  

Lee had a very good reason for doing this. The fast-paced nature of the live show requires the performers to make quick costume changes between sketches. Sometimes, the cast members would “go onstage wearing three different costumes in layers.” Or they’d wear outfits held together by velcro so that they could be “ripped off in a second.”

The only issue with the quick change strategy is that men are gross. Reportedly, male SNL-ers sometimes went commando on show nights. While changing in the “crowded hallway” just outside Studio 8H, they were often seen “stumbling around behind the wardrobe racks trying to preserve a modicum of modesty.”

Tired of having to put up with the sight of sketch comedians’ junk, Lee eventually posted the notice warning that undies would be mandatory on Saturdays. And just to make sure that nobody would expose themselves ever again, she “kept an extra box of jockey shorts around in case somebody forgot.”

In a 2021 interview, Lee clarified this story slightly, revealing that it was actually only John Belushi who didn’t wear underwear. But the notice she posted made it seem like a bigger problem, so as not to single him out. 

Lee, who passed away in 2023, just may be the unsung hero of SNL’s early years — not just because she was able to tactfully enforce the use of underwear, but because she crafted the costumes for so many iconic characters, including the Coneheads, the Blues Brothers, and the “Wild and Crazy Guys.” She also designed the famous bee costumes.

Although Lorne Michaels prevented her from filing a patent on the costume’s headband antennae, which some other guy got rich off of instead. Thanks a lot, Lorne.